In writing about music it's often helped me to make lists of albums to see how things come together or fall apart. Year-end best of lists help, but as the mind wanders the subject of the lists themselves can expand. I started writing about music for the AUSTIN SUN in 1974. I had no idea what I was doing, and still don't. Not really. When I was a freshman in college my first English professor asked me if I had gone to high school. She said she really couldn't tell because of the way I wrote. I always felt if you wrote like you talk maybe things might work out. But who knows? After I'd been writing a little over a year, including a weekly record reviews column I tagged Short Cuts, I thought it would be fun to write about my favorite albums from the last ten years, from 1965-1975, and try to make sense of all I'd heard and loved. Plus I could feel in 1975 that things were starting to vibrate a little stronger, like something was coming and it might be fun. By the end of '76 The Ramones were making a mighty racket, and right behind them punk, New Wave or whatever you wanted to call it hit like a sonic tsunami. All bets were off. It was a new day. This AUSTIN SUN column from December 1975 has hints of what I was feeling then. Soon enough the second half of the Seventies felt as wild and open-ended as the second half of the Sixties. Lucky us.

MY FAVORITE 40: 1965-1975
AUSTIN SUN (December 1975)
By Bill Bentley
If for no other reason than it has been ten years since the release of The Rolling Stones' life-defining single "Satisfaction," the start of 1976 seems like a good time to look back at the past decade of rock music. With the idea that recordings are our new literature (blame it on The Beatles), the following list of 40 albums represent my favorite work done.

The Rolling Stones
OUT OF OUR HEADS
(London 1965))
Finally, The Rolling Stones realized the fruition of their versions of R&B songs: "Have Mercy," "Good Times," "Cry to Me," "That's How Strong My Love Is" dispelled the idea the band were merely black imitators. Plus there were the originals: "Satisfaction," "The Last Time," "Play with Fire." The sudden advancement of the Jagger-Richards writing team was almost frightening. There has never been any doubt since who the greatest rock band is.

The Beatles
RUBBER SOUL
(Capitol 1965)
RUBBER SOUL introduced a level of eclecticism into rock that influenced every band that followed. In addition to the synthesis of different musical elements, Lennon-McCartney (and Harrison) attained a songwriting maturity somewhat submerged until then.

Bob Dylan
HIGHWAY 61 REVISITED
(Columbia 1965)
This was Dylan's naked lunch: "A frozen moment when everyone sees what is on the end of every fork." Add to that a backing soundtrack by the the Wipe-Out Gang of Bloomfield, Kooper, et al., and the Desolation Row vision is complete. Broken doorknob music.

The Beatles
REVOLVER
(Capitol 1966)
REVOLVER was a sophistication of the experimentation of RUBBER SOUL. The music carries the power of composers who realize the strength of their work. TIME magazine might have written about SGT. PEPPER'S, but it is REVOLVER that has lasted with the most influence.

13th Floor Elevators
PSYCHEDELIC SOUNDS
(International Artists 1966)
13th Floor Elevators devised a mixture of spirituality and levitation that can only be explained by LSD. On the right night and the right drug, their music live could create hurricanes. This first album still conjures memories of those mind-shattering nights.

Bob Dylan
BLONDE ON BLONDE
(Columbia 1966)
Dylan was still in a quick spin in 1966. He is one of the only neurotic rockers to make it work right: to thread a needle with invisible string and not end up dead. Charged, crazed and mesmerizing.

THE VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO
(Verve 1967)
Velvet guitarist Sterling Morrison calls their first album "truly revolutionary;" it's an understatement. Andy Warhol's cover creation aside, in 1967 the band and their imagery was like a message from a foreign land. "Heroin," "Venus in Furs" and "European Son" were early indicators of not only future musical directions, but of an entire lifestyle change on the horizon.

MOBY GRAPE
(Columbia 1967)
Moby Grape made all the early accolades of San Francisco seem righteously deserved. Their diversity was on a level with The Beatles, musically and compositionally. A kiss of death by drummer Don Stevenson's middle finger on the cover served to keep their talent a secret.

13th Floor Elevators
EASTER EVERYWHERE
(International Artists 1967)
The criticism of this album about lacking the presence of their live shows is valid; but there is still a passionate presence that is there that makes the band unique. The hallucinogenic mysticism of Tommy Hall's writing and Roky Erickson's singing was a wonder to behold: it embraced all the paradoxes of psychedelic excursions enveloped in rock & roll songs. On this one, the pyramid definitely met the eye.

The Doors
STRANGE DAYS
(Elektra 1967)
The dark side of Jim Morrison gave a new exposure to rock. His personality projections made him a marked man, and he was no doubt proud of it. While Morrison's words and style were fleeting--he seemed obsessed with wanting out--when the energy was present the singer was capable of magic. As were The Doors.

Jefferson Airplane
AFTER BATHING AT BAXTER'S
(RCA 1967)
Normally words like "kinetic" and "organic" mean little when applied to music. But those two words do apply to the Airplane's BAXTER'S. The album moves with a rhythmic pulse that gives an added dimension to each song as well as the album as a whole. By far the best album the Airplane made, AFTER BATHING AT BAXTER'S might well be the best recording to come out of San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury heyday.

Buffalo Springfield
BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD AGAIN
(Atco 1967)
Buffalo Springfield were living proof that the whole is sometimes greater than the sum of its parts. Not only did the band have a trio of outstanding writers, but each was so different from the others that the group was like a three-in-one show. And that neither Poco nor Crosby, Stills & Nash outdid the promise of this music is only further evidence of Buffalo Springfield's endless depth. Today Neil Young thrives.

The Byrds
GREATEST HITS
(Columbia 1967)
An album of greatest hits would usually be ineligible for an album list like this. It doesn't seem fair to include a cherry-picked collection of songs after the fact. Only The Byrds' set is so good that it can't not be included. The group's Dylan covers were rich and propulsive, and Dylan was obviously right in his praise of the band. The second side includes "Eight Miles High" and "5D": examples of the intelligence brought to '60s rock by the quintet. The closing song "My Back Pages" ends the cycle. And if hard noses exclude greatest hits collections, substitute THE NOTORIOUS BYRD BROTHERS release. Either way, two true gems.

Dr. John the Night Tripper
GRIS-GRIS
(Atco 1968)
The titles say it best: "Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya Ya," Danse Kalinda Ba Doom," "Mama Roux," "Danse Fambeaux," "Croker Courtbullion," "Jump Sturdy" and "I Walk on Guilded Splinters." When Dr. John's first release appeared out of the down-under yonder fire from the Crescent City, there was no doubt that this Louisiana man really did do all his tripping at night.

The Band
MUSIC FROM BIG PINK
(Capitol 1968)
It has to be remembered that MUSIC FROM BIG PINK arrived in the midst of thick, out-of-control psychedelia: music The Band called "kill your father, rape your mother music." With the neo-gospel sound of their songs, The Band seemed to be taking on the whole rock world. It worked, though. Feelings about tradition and heritage as well as simpler, more direct music, were turned around. MUSIC FROM BIG PINK was the tolling bell for Sixties fanaticism, and the signpost for the simpler settling to come in the Seventies.

Sir Douglas Quintet + 2
HONKEY BLUES
(Mercury 1968)
When Doug Sahm came roaring out of San Antonio in 1965 with the jacked-up anthem of grooviness, "She's About a Mover," at first he and the band hinted at their British origins. Except when Sahm started talking he had a Texas accent thicker than guacamole. And when the Lone Star state's finest corralled a whole mess of musicians in San Francisco and added a little peyote to the mix, well, the world hasn't heard anything like it before or since.

Jimi Hendrix Experience
ELECTRIC LADYLAND
(Reprise 1968)
Jimi Hendrix had much in common with Charlie Parker's extraordinariness. Hendrix reshaped the attitude of what could be done with the dominant instrument of rock, the electric guitar, much as Parker had done with the saxophone in jazz. The guitarist could be an endless improvisor as well as creator of innovative forms for the musical structures he worked in. ELECTRIC LADYLAND is an audio testimony of the man's mastery.

TRAFFIC
(United Artists 1968)
Anglo rock, jazz, English folk music: these three elements merged in Traffic. Their second album, with "Pearly Queen," "40,000 Headmen," "Feelin' Alright" and others made it seem Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Dave Mason and Chris Wood would set the standard for new British bands. It didn't really happen, but their early releases--especially this one--still seem as advanced now as when they were originally released.

THE BEATLES
(Apple 1968)
Simply titled THE BEATLES--but better known as The White Album--the two-disc set is a culmination of all The Beatles were. Which says everything.

Neil Young & Crazy Horse
EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS IS NOWHERE
(Reprise 1969)
Great bands are worth everything in the world, and Crazy Horse is surely one of them. With Neil Young in front this is an outfit that is ready for lift-off anytime the mood strikes them. Young and Danny Whitten are joined at the hip on guitars, featuring a rhythm section that never gets ahead of itself and isn't afraid to bash it out when called for. With songs like "Down by the River" and "Cowgirl in the Sand" to ride on, there will be no stopping this gang of four.

Grateful Dead
LIVE/DEAD
(Warner Bros. 1969)
The two sides of the Dead stand in perfect contrast on LIVE/DEAD: the improvisatory surge of "Saint Stephen," "The Eleven" and "Dark Star" against the blues feel of "Death Don't Have No Mercy" and "Turn on Your Lovelight." In their element, the band would pin you to the wall with their power while Jerry Garcia would be smiling and weaving the whole time. There was no way it could have lasted quite like this, but it is too bad it didn't.

Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band
TROUT MASK REPLICA
(Straight 1969)
This double-disc set is a soundtrack of Beefheart's brainwaves. Even the word "originality" pales when applied to the Captain's micro-macro scope. A total invention, no old-time religion this. TROUT MASK REPLICA was the final proof you'll never hear surf music again.

THE BAND
(Capitol 1969)
MUSIC FROM BIG PINK broke the ground, and The Band's sepia-toned sophomore album presented the perfection of their rock of ages. The ache for a lost America was unmistakable, and the lean expression for their loss straight to the heart. No one has ever said it better.

Derek and the Dominos
LAYLA AND OTHER ASSORTED LOVE SONGS
(Atco 1970)
The dual dueling guitars of Eric Clapton and Duane Allman gave a majestic sweep to the rock and blues of the Dominos, with a near-orchestral sound uncommon for a five-man band. In fact, LAYLA is the epitome of electric guitar music from two players who displayed an unmatchable virtuosity on their instruments. And the album's title song gave a walking life to what romantic anguish really feels like, and how to survive it.

Van Morrison
MOONDANCE
(Warner Bros. 1970)
The Irishman's previous album ASTRAL WEEKS lives in an unreachable genre of its own, but even in its glory it didn't prepare the listener for what Van Morrison did on MOONDANCE: an astounding blend of music and the mystic. The spirit of timelessness comes through on every song in a breathtaking achievement of gypsy freedom, hard-won and well-deserved.

Ron Nagle
BAD RICE
(Warner Bros. 1970)
There is nothing better than a complete surprise. The Bay Area's favorite musical son Ron Nagle fooled around with rock & roll in early band The Mystery Trend, but now he's broadened his palette exponentially for an audio exploration of the streets of San Francisco. And there is nothing like it. On "Frank's Store," with producer Jack Nitzsche, the fog starts rolling in and life feels like those tears hanging in the air were put there for a reason.

JESSE WINCHESTER
(Ampex 1970)
Winchester and his first eleven songs will forever be tied to the doom of the Kent State killings. They are a homesick, personal postscript of an exiled son. The four identical wanted man photos on the inner and outer album jacket carry a foreboding and insight of the weight of the music inside, and the times that sparked Jesse Winchester to make it.

Grateful Dead
WORKINGMAN'S DEAD
(Warner Bros. 1970)
The Grateful Dead discovered the cold of the sun in the post-Altamont world and for the moment backed off from their role as freedom fighters. In doing so, they sharpened their skills as songwriters and found the beauty of conciseness. Every song on WORKINGMAN'S DEAD is a gem, carrying the edge of the Western frontier as told by frontiersmen.

John Cale
VINTAGE VIOLENCE
(Columbia 1970)
Following Cale's banishment from the Velvet Underground and his production work for The Stooges and Nico, VINTAGE VIOLENCE was unleashed on an unsuspecting public. Only a few heard what is one of the most accomplished works of the last ten years. Cale's background in both classical and rock music and his penchant for the avant-garde allowed him to fashion an elusive but arresting rock masterpiece.

Velvet Underground
LOADED
(Cotillion 1970)
"Some people they like to go out dancing / and other peoples they have to work / just watch me now / and there's even some evil mothers / well they're gonna tell you that everything is just dirt / you know that women never really faint / and villains always blink their eyes / and that you know children are the only ones who blush / and that life is just to die…"

Little Feat
SAILIN' SHOES
(Warner Bros. 1972)
SAILIN' SHOES is in the tradition of Southern California but with more of a razor's edge and sense of humor. Little Feat was taking chances right and left. They were crass, rockous and crackass: live wires popping on a late-night Golden State highway, shooting sparks everywhere.

Jake with The Family Jewels
THE BIG MOOSE CALLS HIS BABY SWEET LORRAINE
(Polydor 1972)
Sometimes when rock & roll veers into the slightly quirky, great things can happen. Allan "Jake" Jacobs is a confirmed Greenwich Villager, former one-half of the duo Bunky & Jake, and no stranger to believing in magic. With The Family Jewels they've all honed folk-rock to a new essence and edge, swinging like mad.

The Rolling Stones
EXILE ON MAIN ST.
(Rolling Stone 1972)
Purposely, Mick Jagger's voice was placed on the bottom of the dark, dense instrumental anxiety of a tough-as-nails Rolling Stonesathon. There is a switchblade-sharp black beauty to EXILE ON MAIN ST. that at first made it hard to listen to, then impossible to forget. Maybe the only album the Stones actually confronted themselves on.

GARLAND JEFFREYS
(Atlantic 1973)
If anyone wants to know what New York in the early '70s is like, Garland Jeffreys is ready to tell them. He's a man of many worlds, and afraid of none. From up in Harlem to down to Battery Park, Jeffreys provides all the clues for what makes the Big Apple so shiny. He runs in fast crowds and is always at the front of the pack. Roof-top feigns welcome.

Bruce Springsteen
THE WILD, THE INNOCENT & THE E STREET SHUFFLE
(Columbia 1973)
Sometimes the only way to get in is to bust down the door. Which is exactly how it feels when Bruce Springsteen is at the microphone. His first album might have been slightly tentative, but not this one. It's got a ball peen hammer aura and the staying power of Muhammad Ali. And if "Rosalita" doesn't jack up the blood pressure, well, maybe it's time to head back to the Kingston Trio and let the new crew take over.

Tom Waits
THE HEART OF SATURDAY NIGHT
(Asylum 1974)
Beatniks created the future when they paved the way for hippies and the coming counterculture, so it's no accident that Tom Waits jumps in the Jack Kerouac waters big-time. He's also got jazz running through his veins, and an eye for the peculiar that is perfect for a songwriter. Put it all together in a backpack and it feels like it's time to hit the rails. From hobos to bohos and everything in-between, this man is the real deal and is going nowhere but ahead. Dig it.

NILS LOFGREN
(A&M 1975)
Roaring out of the group Grin, Nils Lofgren sounded like one of those rockers who had been imbued with a special spirit for rock & roll. He could lay his soul bare on glimmering originals, and then turn around and cover Gerry Goffin & Carol King's "Goin' Back" to show how the song is really supposed to sound. Producer David Briggs teed up these sessions for magic to happen. And it did.

Delbert McClinton
VICTIM OF LIFE'S
CIRCUMSTANCES
(ABC 1975)
Coming from Cowtown (aka Ft. Worth) in Texas, this no-fooling honkytonker has swung around for years, but when he came up with these blazing eleven songs for his debut solo album it felt like an explosion had happened at the recording studio in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Delbert McClinton has a way of looking at life, taking all the wide-screen antics in and then turning them into songs of such rocking reality it sounds almost illegal. He's not fooling.

Patti Smith
HORSES
(Arista 1975)
Something is going on in New York, and none of us can be sure just what it is yet. But it feels like the future; it feels like Patti Smith. She might have started on a poet's stage, but once her friend Lenny Kaye plugged in an electric guitar with her and Ms. Smith started singing it was all over but the shivering. Produced with pure passion by one-time Velvet Undergrounder John Cale, consider HORSES a wake-up call for us all.

Bob Dylan and The Band
THE BASEMENT TAPES
(Columbia 1975)
It is no accident that this list ends with music actually recorded in 1967. Maybe that's because the Seventies have yet to really catch afire for new rock. Remember that in the Sixties, outside of mostly The Beatles and The Rolling Stones it didn't start happening until 1965 when American rock really kicked in. The first half of the '70s has been fairly silent for new music. In 1975 it sounds like Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith offer bold new promise, but most of the major artists active now have strong backgrounds in the Sixties. These home recordings by Bob Dylan and The Band from a Woodstock basement hit like falling boulders almost a decade after they were first made, and offer such excitement for everything music can be. Maybe they are a wondrous sign that new sounds are coming, and we better get ready. Walk on your tiptoes.

Bill Bentley